East Yorkshire Motor Services has announced the 135 service linking Driffield and Garton, Wetwang, Fimber and Sledmere is to be axed as part of cost-cutting measures.

The announcement has come as a blow to villagers in Wetwang who lost their full-time post office earlier in the year partly on the grounds that Driffield Post Office is just a bus ride away.

Wetwang Parish Council chairman Frank Wilson, shocked by the news, is worried that this could be the final straw that will push residents out of the village.

Mr Wilson commented: "Obviously a lot of people rely on these buses to go to and from work because some people don't have any alternative means of transport. I realise there has been a dramatic rise in fuel costs, but quite a lot of people in the village have no other form of transport not just for shopping in Driffield but for going to work.

"We are as isolated as other villages and if they have just singled us out along with Garton, Fimber and Sledmere then a lot of people are going to be disappointed, especially after the closure of the post office," Mr Wilson added.

The circular service from Driffield, just under seven miles away, will cease from Sunday August 31. It currently operates one morning and one evening journey a day, with two additional journeys on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Carol Robertson, who has lived in the village for 20 years, is staggered that the bus service will be cut but hopes it will reinforce the need for the outreach postal service and meeting point at the village hall.

Mrs Robertson said: "The time will come when we should maybe think about moving out of the village because the time will come when we won't be able to drive. There are people who have lived here for years and why should they move when they are settled here."

Concerned about how elderly residents would cope without a full-time post office, Mrs Robertson and her husband Ron set up a meeting point at the village hall which runs alongside a part-time outreach postal service.

"It might be the least used bus route but if it goes it's the only one we've got and people will be literally stranded without it," Mrs Robertson added.

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council are currently on the look-out for a replacement service to ensure villagers are not left stranded.

A spokesman for ERYC said "We are currently tendering for an alternative supplier which means we are approaching bus companies and looking for someone willing to run the route for us, we are working out how much it would cost and who would provide the best service."

• Are you a resident of one of the affected villages - no shop, no post office and now no bus service? Comment on this story using the form below. Registration is an easy one-off process and your e-mail address and other private details will not be shown.